Kamehame Ridge: The Fastest Route To The Ko’olau’s

Note: Kamehame Ridge trail is a closed trail and is not open to the public. As our disclaimer partially reads: “I’m not your daddy, these are dangerous as sh*t hikes, even the simple ones, if you got [insert applicable disorder, disease, or physical impairment] don’t even think about it yo.” Also, consider these tips on Hiking Safely In Hawaii. Mahalo.

HI Raisa – i am going to attempt this monday the 9th … sept! If you would like to go you can shoot me an e-mail at [email protected] it will be my bf and i and our 2 doggies… question for you Coty: dog friendly … assuming they aren’t JUMPERS!! thanks for all the great info – you are AWESOME

Thanks Nic! Enjoy and stay safe out there! Also, hope to see you around this website more – lots of useful info for your Hawaii hiking needs. Check the “Hikes” page in the upper right hand menu for a list of ALL the hikes featured here!

Wanting to do this hike/walk sometime soon. Came across your review of it first. Found it very helpful! Next was reading some comments on Yelp of this hike. Very discouraging to read someone who wrote in four days ago (Dec 13) who attempted to do this hike but was turned away by “landowners” who were yelling at them for trespassing. Also supposedly said that starting next week (Christmas week?) “the security guard will be personally handing out tickets, and they will have a police on standby as well.”
Just wondering if you or anyone else who is reading this has had a similar situation recently? Is this really true?
I personally find it so sad that the community cannot enjoy this amazing view.

Yes, unfortunately this is the case. That said, there is some very important FCC equipment at the top of the ridge. Coupled with the fact that the trail leading up is on private land, it is understandable that they are cracking down.

Question: If the community isn’t gated or marked “private”, one would normally assume it’s open to the public. Another common indicator of a public roadway is the street sign at its entrance. If the street sign is the same kind you see marking public roadways–often with lettering indicating the jurisdiction–that should indicate that it’s a publicly maintained roadway; hence publicly accessible. If the roadway is public or maintained by the city or township with public funds, it should–unless it’s restricted as a government accessway–be accessible to the public such that citations cannot be issued for trespassing. So, for those interested in hiking this trail, without being cited, how is the access road actually marked? Is a private security guard writing citations? If so, they’d be bogus. Only public officers can’t write citations within their jurisdiction, not private parties. What are the facts here? Thanks to anyone with official info.